GXM3
P1619/802.1ae (MACSec) GCM/XEX/XTS-AES Core

General Description

General Description
LAN security standard IEEE 802.1ae (MACSec) uses AES cipher in the GCM mode, while the disk/tape encryption standard IEEE P1619 uses the XEX/XTS mode. Since GCM and XEX/XTS share some of their basic components, a combo GCM/XEX/XTS core is not much larger than a dedicated core for either of the modes.

The GXM3 core is tuned for mid-performance P1619 and 802.1ae applications at the data rates of 2-3 Gbps and higher. The core contains the base AES core AES1 and is available for immediate licensing.

The design is fully synchronous and available in both source and netlist form.

Symbol

Key Features

Small size:
From 60K ASIC gates (at throughput of 18.2 bits per clock)

The GXM3 implementation fully supports the AES algorithm for 128 and 256 bit keys in Galois Counter Mode (GCM) as required by the 802.1ae IEEE standard and in XEX mode as required by the IEEE P1619 standard.

The core is designed for flow-through operation, with input and output interfaces of flexible width. GCM additional authentication data precede the plaintext in the flow of data. GXM3 supports both encryption and decryption modes.

Synthesis Results

Device Area Utilization and Performance

Representative area/resources figures are shown below.

Technology

Area / Resources

Max Frequency

Throughput

TSMC 0.13 µ LV

70,543 gates

207 MHz

3.7 Gbps

TSMC 0.09 µ LV

85,961 gates

348 MHz

6.3 Gbps

TSMC 0.09 µ LV

119,493 gates

487 MHz

8.9 Gbps

Core can be easily synthesized for higher throughputs with slightly increased gate count. Few GXM3 cores can be easily paralleled to achieve 10 Gbps or higher throughput.

Export Permits

US Bureau of Industry and Security has assigned the export control classification number 5E002 to our AES core. The core is eligible for the license exception ENC under section 740.17(A) and (B)(1) of the export administration regulations. See the licensing basics page,
for links to US government sites and more details.